Microsoft Is Failing to Crush the Ps3 in North America
“It should definitely be selling better”, “…Is in serious trouble”, “Might be time for another price cut”. All responses towards todays reveal of the January North American console sales numbers. The NPD showed the Wii to have sold the most in the January console race, coming in with a very respectable 669k sold for the month of January. The Xbox 360 is up next, selling 309k for the time period. Coming in last is the Playstation 3, selling a higher than expected 203k.
But taking one look at the above responses, one would assume they were all directed at the console that came in last, right? Here are the comments in full:
“Yeah, after further analysis of the numbers, the 360 should definitely be selling better”-Zeus Lee
“Microsoft is in serious trouble. The 360 is dead in Japan, dead all across mainland Europe. With a price cut to 200 dollars it should be flying off the shelves but it isn’t.”-HannahBanana
“$199 VS $399, and 100k is the difference? Might be time for another price cut Microsoft, ’cause these numbers are not very good.”-Rupity
Shocked? At first I was too, until it dawned upon me that these responses and many others to the NPD numbers were all on the money; Priced at 199 US Dollars, the Xbox 360 should be running laps around the $399 Playstation 3.It should be no contest at all, Microsoft should be putting up numbers in excess of 400k given the low price point and the great software lineup. They should but they are not, for the January numbers show that even at half the entry price for a Playstation 3, Microsoft are still struggling to convince North American consumers to purchase their console in bulk.
With Gears of War 2,Fable 2, along with Valves critically acclaimed Left 4 Dead being available on store shelves, there is absolutely no shortage of high quality software on the 360.But could the problem be the software is too hardcore, and the nature of the said software is why consumers are not adopting the 360 in higher numbers? Possibly, for at the mainstream price point of 200 bucks, casual gamers should be flocking to the console. The unimpressive numbers reveal they are not doing so.
With added Netflix support and the casual gimmick which they refer to as ‘Avatars ‘, there’s enough incentive for the average Joe to pick up a 360 during a Wal-Mart trip. Throw in the higher price point of the Playstation 3, and there should be no doubt in the mind of a consumer that the Xbox 360 is the way to go until the Ps3 comes down in price. But with a difference of only 106k, it’s clear that Microsoft will have to rethink their Xbox 360 strategy for 2009, for the current difference being displayed reveals an alarming truth for the software giant; they are failing to crush the direct competition at half the price point of the competitions product.
